Drug Prices Can Drop 50-60 Percent If Practices of Prescription Drug Middlemen Properly Addressed: Former FDA Official

People walk by a CVS Pharmacy store in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 17, 2021. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on June 7 launched a comprehensive probe into pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) companies—those acting as middlemen that manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurers, large employers, and other payers.

According to the FTC, it plans to “examine pharmacy benefit managers’ role at the center of the U.S. pharmaceutical system.”